NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has responded to a 7-year-old boy’s letter expressing his feelings about the fact that he was not able to celebrate his birthday due to the lockdown.
A few days before his birthday, George Vrahas wrote to the Premier to let her know “he was really upset that he can’t go to school, can’t go out and can’t celebrate with his family and friends.”
“Mum, we need to sit down and have a serious discussion. I need you to write a letter to auntie Gladys to tell her how I feel,” George told his mother, Christine.
“He was overwhelmed and concerned with the lockdown and wanted to write the letter because he knows the Premier would read it and reply to him,” Christine said.
George Vrahas and his 4-year-old sister Elizabeth holding the letter from the Premier. Photo: Supplied
Last year, during the first lockdown with another letter to the Premier, George inquired whether the Easter Bunny would be able to visit and he received a reply along with a bag of Easter eggs.
In her recent correspondence with the young Greek Australian, the Premier says that “while it’s disappointing that we are not able to celebrate special occasions with family and friends, it’s important that we follow the health advice to keep us all safe during this time.”
Closing with a handwritten P.S. note, Berejiklian signs as ‘Auntie Gladys’.
“He’s happy he got an acknowledgement from someone we see on the news,” said Christine stressing that this lockdown has been difficult and draining especially for parents with multiple children who work and homeschool.
“The children are also suffering and I’m glad George took the initiative to speak to me about it and to have a voice that is being heard. We always worry about our mental health but we often forget about the kids,” Christine said.
Asking George if he has a message to share with other kids who also have to hold off their birthday celebrations until the lockdown ends, he says “it will be okay.”
The Greek Australian Dialogue Series continues next week with a zoom conference with the executive director and board member of Enterprise Greece, Betty Alexandropoulou.
Hosted by the trade commissioner of Greece in Australia at the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Katia Gkikiza, and director of the Business Leaders Council, Paul Nicolaou, the session will include topics such as how have Greek exports changed during the COVID pandemic and how Enterprise Greece has helped companies sustain, grow, transform, and develop.
Ms. Alexandropoulou comes with vast experience in senior leadership roles within government as well as private-sector multinational organizations, and several years abroad in countries such as Switzerland, Argentina, and the United States.
Formerly a Senior Commercial Advisor for the U.S. Department of Commerce at the U.S. Embassy in Greece, her portfolio included Healthcare and ICT sectors and the SelectUSA global program which facilitates U.S. foreign direct investment. A seasoned professional in managing global projects and teams, she specializes in international market expansion as related to trade promotion and investment attraction, as well as business transformation.
She has served in business associations such as the Propeller Club and the American Chamber of Commerce and has participated in various conferences and industry forums as a keynote and panel speaker.
Following her presentation, there will be an opportunity for a Q&A session with Ms. Alexandropoulou.
Nola Karapanagiotidis has become the first Greek Australian woman to be appointed as a judge of the County Court of Victoria.
Her Honour Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis is one of six new appointments to the court which start today.
“I’m excited to welcome six new, distinguished and deserving people as judges of the County Court, who bring with them a range of experience and expertise,” Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes says.
“Having such a variety of skills on the bench is an important part of our work to make justice more fair and accessible to Victorians.”
Nola Karapanagiotidis has been a barrister for close to two decades, practicing across the Magistrates’, County and Supreme Courts and appearing in the Federal and High Courts and coronial inquests.
She previously worked at Victoria Legal Aid and as a solicitor advocate and has held a range of community-based and volunteer legal positions.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a prouder day. My sister Nola Karapanagiotidis has just been appointed a County Court judge!! The 2nd in my family to even go to High School, 28 yrs of volunteering for community legal centres & one of the first Greek Australian women to be appointed❤️ pic.twitter.com/J6hYbedl1i
Founder of the Asylum Seekers Reserve Centre (ASRC) and brother Kon Karapanagiotidis is sentimental over the announcement.
“My late father, Leo, dreamed of being a lawyer & my mum, Sia, [a] maths teacher. Dad had to leave school at age 9 & my mum at age 12,” Mr. Karapanagiotidis writes on his Facebook page.
“They came as migrants, no English, worked on farms and in factories until their bodies could take no more.”
“Today my sister, Nola, was appointed a County Court judge.”
“Somehow you found within you the strength to raise Nola and I so that we could dream that we could touch the sky and be anything,” Mr. Karapanagiotidis further pens in a missive to his late parents.
The other candidates appointed are Stewart Bayles, Kellie Blair, Daniel Holding, and Angela Ellis.
Details of any welcome ceremonies will be made available on vicbar.com.au when they are known.
Melburnians will spend another week in lockdown, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed at Victoria’s press conference on Wednesday.
Victoria has recorded 20 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases out of 41,571 test results processed on Tuesday.
Of the new cases, 15 are linked to current outbreaks and 14 have been in quarantine throughout their infectious periods.
The current lockdown was due to end at 8:00pm on Thursday but will now be extended until at least August 19.
Mr. Andrews said the discovery of five more mystery cases was one of the reasons the extension was required.
The Premier also announced the cross-border bubble with New South Wales would be further tightened, with permits required for all cross-border residents from Friday night.
“From 1:00pm tomorrow, but not enforced until 6:00pm Friday, people will need to, if they want to use that bubble they will need to get a permit,” he said.
New South Wales recorded 344 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases and two more deaths in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the surge in cases seen over the last two days was likely to continue.
A man in his 90s and a man in his 30s have died after contracting COVID-19.
Ms. Berejiklian said the man in his 30s had other underlying health conditions and the man in his 90s was not vaccinated.
She says there has been an increase in cases in the neighbouring LGAs of Bayside, Burwood and Inner West.
Fourteen new cases were confirmed in the Hunter region overnight.
Two more cases have been reported in Dubbo.
The Premier confirmed that Dubbo will go into lockdown from 1:00pm today.
There are currently 374 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 62 people in intensive care, 29 of whom require ventilation.
Of those in intensive care, three are in their 20s, seven are in their 30s, six in their 40s, 14 in their 50s, 13 in their 60s, 16 in their 70s, and three in their 80s.
Melbourne massage therapist Michael Sergides has been sentenced to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault by the Victorian County Court.
Michael Sergides is two months into a sentence he received for sexually violating a female client on the massage table.
“You took advantage of her vulnerability in an entitled way that has caused deep and enduring trauma to her,” Judge Martine Marich told Sergides, 75, as he watched on a video link from prison.
“These are the types of incidents that cause concern in women that they are not safe from opportunistic sexual violation.”
The woman visited Sergides’ home on June 26, 2018, for a back and shoulder massage after her friend found his advertisement on sales website Gumtree.
The woman, aged in her 20s, said she felt frozen, worthless and empty during the massage and called her friend and her mother once she left. The woman then went straight to the police.
In an impact statement, the woman said the crimes left her lost, isolated and housebound, without anything that brought her joy. She self-harmed, her relationships with loved ones suffered and her mental health declined to diagnoses of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“He took my only reason to get up each day and my only reason to live,” she says, but that she “…decided he wouldn’t win any more … what he took from me that night I have now taken back. I have reclaimed my life,” she said.
Judge Marich accepted the victim’s evidence in finding Sergides guilty, and found there were inconsistencies between what Sergides told the woman’s friend in a phone call and his denials to police. She found he had no case to answer on two other charges.
Judge Marich acknowledged Sergides was a man of good prior behaviour and retained family support, had health problems and good rehabilitative prospects. He has already served two months.
Sergides must serve three and a half years before he is eligible for parole and is permanently banned by Victoria’s Health Complaints Commissioner from running general health services.
Industrial conglomerate Mytilineos has sent helicopters to Greece to aid the battle against the country’s raging wildfires.
Flying and supporting staff consisting of more than 20 pilots, engineers, and translators are on-board the BELL 214 BI helicopters and are en route from Australia to Greece.
“From the first moment that the magnitude of the disaster became apparent, MYTILINEOS decided immediately to help in the most appropriate way. In collaboration with the Government and the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the Company aimed to offer firefighting helicopters, which were most needed by the Fire Department,” a press release from Mytilineos reads.
“These helicopters, after being approved at operational level by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, are handed over to the State of Greece, in order to contribute to the extinguish of the active fire fronts in the country.”
“[Four] helicopters are on their way to our country and will remain for 60 days from the date of their arrival, in order to avoid the risk of resurgence or new wildfires, while the cost of the helicopters (€ 3.3 million) is fully undertaken by Mytilineos.”
“Experts will adjudicate whether the wildfires that engulfed the country were the result of long-term deficiencies and state problems, or an additional proof of the catastrophic effects of climate change. Mytilineos is the first Greek company and one of the first industries in Europe and worldwide, that set clear targets to minimise its carbon footprint, while its entire strategy is governed by the principles of sustainable development.”
“Our commitments are being matched by deeds and every time our homeland calls us, we try to be useful, in a crucial and effective way. We also pledge to assist in any effort of rebuilding the burned areas and of reforestation of the woods.”
“Mytilineos has proven over time that it is always present during difficult times of our country. This disaster has shocked us all. We knew that there was a need for aerial firefighting, however, there is a terrible shortage worldwide. We did what was humanly possible and found the most advanced Erickson firefighting helicopters and brought them from Australia to Greece. Along with a crew of 20 people – pilots, engineers and even translators,” Vivian Bouzali, General Manager of Communications and strategic marketing, tells The Greek Herald.
“These helicopters, with a cost of 3.3 million euros, fully covered by Mytilineos will remain in our country for two months. Until the last spark that threatens our homeland goes out. Mytilineos will also contribute both to the reconstruction of the burned areas and to the reforestation of our natural wealth.”
“…We hope that all Greek and international companies to invest in sustainable development. It is up to all of us to contribute to the future of our planet – to the future of our children,” Ms Bouzali concludes.
A political scuffle has begun in Athens as frontline personnel work around the clock to battle wildfires for the eighth day running on Tuesday.
The main political opposition party SYRIZA in Athens has blamed the government for using climate change as an excuse to cover up deficiencies in its handling of the crisis.
“Climate change is, without doubt, an especially dangerous reality. However, it cannot be used as an excuse by the government because it ignored our warnings and those of scientists,” SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras told reporters.
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias jumped to the government’s defence, telling reporters the state apparatus did all it could in the face of the worst heatwave in 30 years.
“Do not shoot the fighters in the hour of battle. Every home lost for us is a stab in the heart,” Hardalias said.
“The losses we suffered involved fighters, not civilians.”
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias (right) jumped to the defence of the Government following Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras’ (left) comments (Left: Michael Kappeler—dpa/Corbis) (Right: via xronos.gr)
The government announced relief measures – including compensation and tax exemptions – for those who have lost homes and property, but that wasn’t enough to quell the concerns of residents in villages of high risk.
“Police came and told us to evacuate the village of Avgaria but we cannot, this is our property. We cannot let our homes burn,” said Ioannis Aggelopoulos, 55, who owns a car body shop at Istiaia in the epicenter of Evia’s wildfires.
“We have been sleeping in shifts.”
586 wildfires broke out in eight days.
Other fronts in the Peloponnese have also reignited, and authorities ordered the evacuation of 20 more villages in the region of Arkadia.
Almost 1,000 firefighters, nine aircraft and 200 vehicles have been sent to Greece from other European countries to help.
One volunteer firefighter has died and three others have been hospitalised.
Residents used hoses to put out fires burning near their homes and helped firefighters and volunteers.
“They’re the ones who saved the village today,” one elderly resident said, pointing to a team of Slovak firefighters tackling flames in a forested area.
“It’s a huge fire, it’s not easy to get it under control,” said the crew’s team leader, Peter Kovalik.
“We are doing our best.”
The Athens National Observatory estimates that about 65,000 hectares have been burned in total as of Sunday.
Dozens of villages and thousands of people have been evacuated.
Pharmacist, Chris Vasili, arrives for work every day at Michael Vasili Chemist in Lakemba and instantly dons full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of a face shield, medical gown and gloves. He and his staff then start to serve regular customers from behind a Perspex screen.
Whilst this new normal is startling, these measures have been implemented as the chemist shop is situated in the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Government Area (LGA) – the current epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak which is spreading across western and south-western Sydney.
For Chris, it’s about putting the safety and wellbeing of his regular customers above the shop’s bottom line.
“It’s been a little bit of loss in business for over-the-counter, front-of-the-shop things, but our main focus is the hundreds of scripts we have on file, many who are Greek actually,” Chris tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
Michael Vasili Chemist in Lakemba.
“We have to put them first and obviously put the safety of the aged care facilities that we supply first. It was just one of those things that we had to take the loss, but it’s nothing in comparison to being shut down for 14 days by the health care department.”
With customers front of mind, the pharmacist has also continued to offer local medicine delivery. This service is something customers have really welcomed and utilised during the current strict lockdown.
“We’ve increased our local delivery tenfold. Before it was maybe like one or two [scripts] a day… now we’re probably at least 15 or 20 a day of local customers of ours who don’t want to go out, maybe their kids can’t travel to this area to get their medication, so we’ve been delivering that to them,” Chris explains.
Pharmacist, Chris Vasili.
The success of this delivery service leads The Greek Herald to ask Chris whether the chemist is also planning on taking appointments for the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines anytime soon.
Chris says although he has undertaken his COVID-19 vaccination training and the shop has been approved as a vaccination site, they have decided “to hold off on supplying it merely because we aren’t even letting customers in at the moment.” This, he adds, hasn’t stopped customers from asking about the vaccines and staff are able to provide them with accurate advice.
“Not only are they asking whether we do it, they’re also asking ‘is it safe.’ I might get this question like five times a day…” Chris says.
‘We want this to be over’:
It’s not surprising that Chris is regularly asked about the safety of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.
According to Peter Doukas, who is the Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW (ECCNSW), the peak body of all culturally and linguistically diverse communities in NSW, there’s currently a lot of vaccine hesitancy in south-west and western Sydney due to vaccination messaging.
“There is a lot of negative media about vaccines and the multicultural communities we’ve dealt with – and the Greek community is not innocent of this – is that we get our media from the home country and from other Greek communities around the world, as well as Australia, and it’s not consistent,” Mr Doukas tells The Greek Herald.
“That affects people’s thoughts about vaccinations which then starts a cycle and we’ve seen this with many communities.”
Peter Doukas is the Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW.
Mr Doukas adds that on top of vaccine hesitancy, the NSW Government will also face several other challenges around developing a mental health plan and enforcing public health orders during the current lockdown.
“Communities have reacted relatively well so far but again, it’s been a difficult transition back into lockdown this year. Last year we had more good will and a lot more energy but now everyone has COVID fatigue and we want this to be over,” Mr Doukas says.
“What concerns me now, is obviously the healthcare related issues… It’s now a question of partly enforcement of health orders and secondly, it’s a question of how you deal with exemptions.
“Especially when you are dealing with areas and communities that often struggle to adapt to the public health orders because they have large families or family members who are essential workers and they bring the virus back home.”
‘I’m always cautious’:
Kypros Agathocleous is another one of these essential workers from the Liverpool Local Government Area (LGA).
As a courier driver, his job sees him move around for work but as he lives in one of the eight LGA’s subjected to an Authorised Workers Order, he must have a COVID-19 test every three days.
Kypros Agathocleous is a courier driver from Liverpool.
“When they mentioned the Liverpool LGA was going into lockdown, my first thought was that I wouldn’t be able to go to work. There was a grey area with what they announced and it wasn’t clear,” Kypros tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“I contacted the company that I work for and they informed me that I could continue working but had to get negative COVID tests.”
Since then, Kypros says he has been busier than ever as there has been a surge in home deliveries of small appliances and gift hampers.
“I’m doing contactless deliveries and pick ups, scanning QR codes and always wearing a mask. Customers can’t sign for the deliveries. Deliveries were authorised to leave with proof of delivery. With most of the deliveries I had to take a photo for proof of delivery,” he says.
It’s extra work but Kypros says he still feels lucky he is able to continue working while others are working from home or not working at all. For him, it’s all about looking after and continuing to provide for his wife and daughter.
“I’m always cautious with distance between people, always sanitise and wash my hands as it’s always at the back of your head, what if,” he concludes.
The issue of the non-existence of a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) between Greece and Australia continues to concern the community while questions arose from expatriates in relation to the actions carried out by the Greek authorities in this direction.
“The moves are coordinated and there have been positive developments,” said the Head of the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of Greece in Australia, Trade Commissioner, Katia Gkikiza, making it clear that both countries recognize the importance of the agreement as a means of strengthening business cooperation between them and stimulating bilateral economic and trade relations.
Trade Commissioner of Greece in Australia, Katia Gkikiza
“Greece has actively focused on efforts to reduce any remaining tax barriers within the country having introduced a series of measures such as tax reductions for individuals and businesses, tax incentives for investment, further digitization of tax services and modernization of the legal framework for corporate governance”, she stressed.
Ms Gkikiza also explained that in addition to efforts to improve the tax framework for businesses at national and international level, Greece and the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs have been actively promoting a cross-border trade with Australia and informing local businesses about trade and investment opportunities in Greece.
Part of Greece’s promotion strategy in Australia is a joint action with the EU Delegation to Australia on the EU – Australia Free Trade Agreement which is currently being negotiated.
Positive signs of an agreement in the near future
“There are currently 10 EU member states without a Double Taxation Agreement with Australia (including Greece). Since the launch of negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Australia, in June 2018, Greece has been working closely with the EU and the other nine member states in order to ensure that the issue of the Double Taxation Agreements is also addressed,” said Ms Gkikiza, clarifying that such agreements can be time-consuming.
— Australia in Belgium 🇦🇺🇪🇺🇧🇪🇱🇺 (@AusEmBrussels) August 4, 2021
“The Australian Federal Budget of October 2020 included an announcement to modernise and expand Australia’s tax treaty network with other countries,” Ms Gkikiza said, and clarified that Australia should negotiate separately with each of the EU member countries that do not have a double taxation agreement.
It is worth noting that in October 2020, the aforementioned ten EU member states co-signed a letter to the Australian Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg asking him to prioritize the resolution of the issue of double taxation.
“Since then, we can confirm that there have been further positive developments. There has been an exchange of official correspondence between the two countries at the highest level, including letters between the two Prime Ministers, in December 2020, expressing mutual strong commitment to conclude a Double Taxation Agreement as soon as possible, and hopefully before the end of financial year 2021/2022,”said Ms Gkikiza.
Concluding, the Trade Commissioner assured the businesses and companies wishing to invest in Greece that “they can go on with their projects knowing that the Greek Government is fully committed to the conclusion of the Double Taxation Agreement.”
With the Tokyo Summer Olympics over for this year and the Paralympics set to begin in two weeks, The Greek Herald has decided to fill the gap in our television viewing with our top six Greek moments from this year’s Games.
1. The Opening and Closing Ceremony’s:
The was a strong Greek presence at both the Opening and Closing Ceremony’s of the Tokyo Olympics this year.
Greek flag bearers, Eleftherios Petrounias and Anna Korakaki, kicked off the Opening Ceremony as they proudly walked out first with the Greek flag, followed closely by the rest of the athletes.
Petrounias came out in a traditional black suit, while Korakaki and the other female athletes wore an elegant blue and white dress.
Greek flag raised at the Olympic closing ceremony.
On his return to Ioannina in Greece, Stefanos was given a hero’s welcome as he did a victory lap around the city’s main square aboard an army Jeep, with a police motorcycle escort.
Ntouskos was also crowned with an olive wreath by Epirus Regional Governor, Alexandros Kachrimanis, and congratulated for this performance in the Tokyo Games by Ioannina Mayor, Moisis Elisaf.
3. Greece’s men’s water polo team win first-ever Olympic silver medal:
After a nail-biting men’s water polo final, Greece claimed its first ever Olympic silver medal after losing to Serbia 10-13.
Alexandros Papanastasiou of Greece reacts after scoring. Photo: Reuters / Gonzalo Fuentes.
With five minutes to spare, Serbia scored two more goals and ultimately defended their Rio 2016 Olympic title in men’s water polo.
In the lead up to the gold medal match, Greece had won six of its seven games at Tokyo 2020, with the only exception a 6-6 draw against Italy in the preliminary round.
5. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari team up to play Aussies, Ashleigh Barty and John Peers:
Greek Australians watched on the tennis quarterfinal as they cheered on both Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas from Team Greece and Ashleigh Barty and John Peers from Team Australia.
Ultimately Sakkari and Tsitsipas were defeated by the Aussie duo, 6-4, 4-6, [10-6], but it was still a fun and nail-biting game to watch.
The Australian Olympic Committee had 472 athletes competing at the Tokyo Games this year and among them were five Greek Australians: Dylan Pierias (football), Alexandra Aristoteli (rhythmic gymnastics), Taylah Tsitsikronis (softball), Anthony Hrysanthos and Lea Yanitsas (both water polo).
All of these athletes made us proud as they played for Australia in their respective sports. Water polo players, Anthony and Lea, helped their teams to a number of victories as goalies.
